Casual inspection of mainstream boating periodicals hints at the fervor rampant in the runabout subculture. Talented builders and affluent owners will travel far in search of the Ultimate Gloss for their Hackers, Rivas, and Chris-Crafts. They demand frequent publication of articles about the care and feeding of mahogany thoroughbreds. Then, after an expert written story appears in print, the editors hear cries of protest from other runabout experts. The author, they claim, was clearly a shiftless incompetent who couldn't tell the difference between a quart of spar varnish and a can of Budweiser. Passion runs deep.

 Builders who would like to buy into the fun and performance enjoyed by this fraternity — with, or without, its social implications — might consider building Rascal. Designer Ken Bassett set out to combine the look and feel of classic runabouts with the economy and practicality of outboard motors, highway trailers, plywood, and epoxy. He recommends this boat to anyone who would rather drive a Porsche than a Volkswagen.

Rascal goes together with plywood (4mm for the sides and 5mm for the bottom) ripped into I'-wide planks and laid diagonally over transverse frames and longitudinal stringers. The icing consists of solid, 1/4" Honduras mahogany planks carefully lined off fore and aft and glued over the plywood inner layer with epoxy. This construction requires care, skill, and expensive materials. To reduce building time and costs, we could replace the solid mahogany planking with a second skin of plywood — and paint the whole works. But that would violate the spirit, if not the letter, of this design. I suspect that Bassett would be unhappy.

 After the planking comes the sanding and varnishing — and the builder had better not be in a hurry to get to the launching ramp. This is one of those ) jobs that we can take to 99 44/100% of completion in good time. The final 56/100% can turn into a career. Bassett and 1 once loitered for three hours in a Newport restaurant waiting for the boat-show crowd to thin out. He spent the entire time expounding on the art of varnishing, and he never repeated himself. I recall talk of dust suppression, optical polishing compounds, and wet-or-dry sandpaper with four-digit grit numbers. Oh, my.

Rascal’s lines show a shallow-V hull with deadrise increasing as the bottom sweeps forward to a strong chin. Note the "pad keel" (a flat, horizontal surface that runs along the bottom from Station 2 aft, widening as it approaches the transom). This "water ski" provides dynamic lift to counteract the weight of the driver, engine, and fuel. It allows the boat to get onto a plane quickly (in four seconds with the suggested engine), and Bassett reports that he believes it adds stability at high speeds.

 When pushed by a stock 60-hp Mercury ELPT engine, this is one fast boat. Bassett puts some numbers to the prototype's performance: "After the proper running-in period. Rascal ran 54 mph in a 6" chop. But this speed (with a 10 x 17 aluminum propeller) came at 6,200 rpm — definitely beyond the manufacturer's warranty specifications' A 10x 19 prop dropped the maximum rpm to 5,500, but the speed fell  to less than 50 mph and acceleration became sluggish. So, we had a propeller shop form a 'super cup' in the prop's blades The engine now tops out at 5,800 rpm, giving a speed of 52 mph. Acceleration is brisk (25 to 35 mph in 2.7 seconds), and the power holds well in turns.

 A few summers ago, Bassett brought Rascal to the Wooden Boat waterfront for a demonstration. With its healthy top speed and acceleration, the runabout demanded drivers full attention. But handling proved dead predictable. Directional stability was excellent. The boat carved turns with authority, banking appeared to be less then we might have predicted, but there was no feeling of impending tripping. The hull did not pound violently when pushed hard into a steep chop. But such carrying-on was clearly outside the design parameters. The designer seems to have scored well in the panache category. After the trial runs, he trailered the freshly washed Rascal to the dining hall. A small herd of boat school students immediately left their desserts and hurried outdoors for a look. Rascal is a striking boat, in, or out or the water  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         - - M.O’B.

Boat Design Quarterly No.6